News

By Kristen A. Graham and Jeff Gammage
Inquirer Staff Writers

Having seen many of their classmates punched and beaten all day long, a group of Vietnamese students told teachers they feared walking home.

At the end of the school day Dec. 3, they left South Philadelphia High, backed by a group of adults including the principal, but still dreading what waited outside. Some ran ahead up Broad Street, separating the group of Vietnamese students from their escorts.

In moments, they crossed the street and were surrounded by assailants – mostly African American, but also Cambodian and white youths.

A crowd of more than 100 surrounded the Vietnamese students, who huddled together while dozens of attackers punched, pushed, and kicked them. A Cambodian female, repeatedly cited in the report, was the first to attack and described as the most violent

The assault was the culmination of a chaotic, violent day at South Philadelphia High, details of which are spelled out for the first time in a long-awaited report released yesterday. The report by retired federal Judge James T. Giles detailed his investigation of the racial violence that has drawn national headlines and intervention from local, state, and federal authorities

The inquiry was commissioned by Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who said the 31-page report was “thorough and comprehensive. It’s fair.”

But the work, which focused solely on Dec. 2 and 3, immediately drew criticism from activists, community members, and students who said that its scope was too limited.

Giles interviewed administrators, some teachers, some witnesses, and only those student victims who agreed to participate, he said. The alleged perpetrators – 22 students have been suspended, and some may be expelled – were not interviewed because they may face criminal or district charges, the judge said.

Giles concluded that the Dec. 3 violence was triggered by rumors stemming from a fight the day before. There is circumstantial evidence that the attacks were “coordinated and planned,” he said, though it’s not known how.

On Dec. 2, there was an in-school confrontation between African American and Asian students, and an after-school incident outside a Walgreens at Broad Street and Snyder Avenue.

Afterward, there were rumors that a popular, disabled African American student had been jumped by a group of Asian students. Giles said he was not able to determine whether the African American student was in fact a victim or an attacker, but the rumor that he had been assaulted helped fuel violence the next day.

During first period Dec. 3, some African American students walked from room to room, searching for specific Asian students to harm.

One teacher who is partially identified as “Ms. Lawson” stands out in the report. The African American woman, who teaches pregnant students, heard a disturbance in the hallway outside the lunch room. She saw an Asian student being “pummeled” by African American students and jumped in, “wrapping herself around him to protect him from further attack.”

Her statement was consistent with security-camera footage at 12:31 p.m. showing eight to 10 African American students punching Asian students. Another group of African American students was in the background “observing and appearing to approve the attacks,” the report said.

When a group of Chinese students entered the lunch room, they, too, were attacked, curling into balls and shielding their faces to protect themselves. This made it impossible for them to identify their attackers later, the report said. One student suffered a broken nose that required two surgeries.

At the lunchroom deli station, a worker said, the teacher rushed in to shield the Asian students while “loudly daring the African American students to attack her or the Asian students.” The teacher led the Asian students out of the lunch room.

The report disputes allegations that cafeteria workers encouraged the attackers and that principal LaGreta Brown abandoned students moments before the Broad Street attack
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The judge concluded that race or ethnicity “were contributing factors” in the Dec. 3 attacks, but he was unable to conclude that students were attacked because they were immigrants.

Students at South Philadelphia High School have long complained about violence, especially directed at immigrants.

Giles said he couldn’t determine whether gang rivalries motivated any of the violence, although police who patrol the area told him the school has problems with gangs.

The report did not assign blame to school officials, but it did make recommendations for change, starting with holding students accountable for their behavior.

“School rules must be fair, and punishment for proven violations must be fair, stern, and consistently applied,” he said. Other suggestions included: improving communications among staff, installing an anonymous tip line for students to report violence, and banning from school hooded sweatshirts that allow assailants to hide their faces. Some suggestions, such as adding more cameras, have already been implemented.

Both Giles and Ackerman said it was important to focus on the future.

Ackerman said the scope of the report was limited to the two days in December because it was difficult to investigate violence that occurred in previous months or years.

“Let’s move forward,” she said, “because we’ll never be able to really get a handle on what happened in the past… . It would take us another 10 years to unravel the intricacies of what happened.”

But Helen Gym, a board member at Asian Americans United, said after the superintendent spoke that it was crucial for the school district to understand what went on in the school leading up to Dec. 3.

“When 30 students get attacked, and there’s a history of violence at the school, you absolutely do Monday-morning quarterbacking,” she said.

According to the report, Gym said, school officials did nothing wrong Dec. 3 – and would presumably act in the same manner today. “That’s a very frightening analysis, actually.”

Cecilia Chen, a staff attorney with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said the violence of Dec. 3, and school officials’ handling of the matter, required a full, independent investigation – not one initiated and funded by the district.

Chen’s group has filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice.

South Philadelphia student Duong Nghe Ly, who attended an afternoon presentation by Giles and Ackerman at the school, called the report “nonsense.”

Ly, 18, a junior, said the judge seemed unable to clearly explain the findings, principal Brown didn’t speak, and when students tried to ask questions, “Mrs. Ackerman never let us finish… . She would jump into our mouths.”

“A lot of people were upset, and they left the room,” Ly said. “Even the teachers, too.”

Ly said that on Dec. 3, he witnessed an attack on Asian students in the cafeteria – but was never contacted or interviewed during Giles’ investigation.

“I feel a little bit safer, because there are a lot of cameras installed, and there are an increased number of security in my school,” said Ly, a Vietnamese student who came to the United States two years ago. “But I still don’t feel comfortable.”

Wei Chen, a 19-year-old senior and president of the Chinese-American Student Association, said he was interviewed about the violence that occurred Dec. 3. But he was not permitted to explain all he knew, but was told to provide specific answers to limited queries, he said.

“When I tell him, ‘Can I finish my story?’ it was, ‘No, just answer the questions.’ “

Rue Landau, executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, said, “It’s unfortunate that with the report’s limited scope, t

he judge missed a valuable opportunity to deal with the long-standing racial and ethnic tensions at South Philly High School.”

Racial violence occurs throughout the district, Landau said, and she invited anyone affected by it to a series of hearings the commission is holding on school violence. The next hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. tomorrow at Myers Recreation Center, 58th Street and Kingsessing Avenue.

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